Caterpillar (2010)
"Kyatapirâ" (original title)

During the Second Sino-Japanese War, in 1940, Lieutenant Kurokawa returns home as a honored and decorated soldier... but deprived of his arms and legs lost in battle in mainland China. All ... See full summary »

Director:

Kôji Wakamatsu

Writers:

Hisako Kurosawa (screenplay), Masao Adachi (screenplay)

Stars:

Shinobu Terajima, Keigo Kasuya, Emi Masuda

3 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Shinobu Terajima	...	Shigeko Kurokawa
Keigo Kasuya	...	Tadashi Kurokawa
Emi Masuda	...	Chiyo Kurokawa
Sabu Kawahara	...	The Village Chief
Maki Ishikawa	...	Village chief's wife
Gô Jibiki	...	Military officer #1
Arata Iura	...	Military officer #2 (as Arata)
Katsuyuki Shinohara	...	Kuma
Daisuke Iijima	...	Commander
Ichirô Ogura	...	Announcer
Sanshirô Kobayashi	...	Village man #1
Mariko Terada	...	Chinese woman #2
Ken Furusawa
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Shima Ohnishi

Storyline

During the Second Sino-Japanese War, in 1940, Lieutenant Kurokawa returns home as a honored and decorated soldier... but deprived of his arms and legs lost in battle in mainland China. All hopes, from the village men and women to close family members, turn to Shigeko, the Lieutenant's wife: she must honor the Emperor and the country in setting an example for all by fulfilling her duty and taking care of the 'god soldier'...

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Plot Keywords:

insect in title | based on short story | one word title

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site [fr]

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

6 May 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

Caterpillar

Box Office

Budget:

$120,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$2,109 (USA) (6 May 2011)

Gross:

$2,109 (USA) (6 May 2011)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Skhole Co., Wakamatsu Production

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Goofs

Kurosawa is a 2nd Lieutenant and correctly called such "Shoi" throughout the film, but his uniform consistently displays the rank of a Major or "Shosa". On the lapel insignia, a 2nd Lieutenant would have 2 red strips and one star, not 3 red strips and one star as shown in the film.

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Soundtracks

"Dead Girl"
Lyrics by Nazim Hikmet
Composed by Yuzô Koyama
Produced by Ryûichi Sakamoto
Sung by Chitose Hajime

User Reviews

Adaptation snub?

I wonder why the short story of the same name is never given credit. Especially since it was written by Edugawa Rampo*, the "father of Japanese mystery". Is this blatant plagiarism or is the story so famous that it needs no reference? The film is intermediate in its adaptation, keeping the general premise of a limbless veteran and his tormented wife. The Rampo text is much darker and depicts the wife as relishing in sexually teasing her "lump of flesh". The film version adds visualizations of the "caterpillar's" war crimes in China during WWII; memories of which haunt the miserable creature. Unfortunately, the film tends to dwell on the tedium of their lives (eating, sleeping, "sex") and not the psychological/physical abuse that the wife perversely doles out.

*Edugawa Rampo is a phonetical pronunciation of Edgar Allen Poe in Japanese: "Edugaw-Aram-Po"